A Glassculpt portrait is real glass, not a print. Each piece of glass is cut to its shape and placed by hand, then layered one over the next into dimensional relief on a natural linen ground. The relief is framed in a walnut shadow box deep enough to hold it, in 30 × 30 or 50 × 50 cm.
What is the portrait itself made of?
The portrait is layered glass. Every piece is cut to the shape it needs, placed by hand and built up one layer over the next, so the face stands off the ground instead of sitting flat on it.
The glass is sorted by colour before anything is placed: the bench holds small dishes of loose pieces, fine tweezers and a tube of adhesive. A tricolour dog comes out in glossy black, chestnut and pearl-white; a baby in pearl and peach, and the glass will not fade. The eyes get the most time of any part of the piece.
Because the relief is built up in layers it throws its own small shadows. Move past it and the light moves across the face, which is the difference between a glass portrait and a picture of one. There is more on why the studio works this way on the Our glass page.
What is the linen ground?
The glass sits on natural linen: the pale, slightly textured cloth you see between the pieces and around the portrait. It gives the relief something to stand off and keeps the piece from reading as a hard, glossy panel.
Linen is the one part that asks for a little thought. The glass will not fade, but hours of strong direct sun yellow linen in time, so the piece belongs on a wall that does not take the sun for hours. The routine is short and is set out in the care guide.
What is the frame?
A walnut shadow box: a deep, dark frame with room behind the front edge, so the relief is held rather than pressed. It arrives ready to hang on its own fitting.
- Deep enough to hold the relief, so nothing bears on the glass
- Dark walnut, the same box the catalogue pieces, the quote panels and the signs are finished in
- Fitted for hanging before it leaves the studio
- Square: 30 × 30 or 50 × 50 cm
What is a glass portrait not?
It is not a print, not a photograph under glass and not paint. Nothing about the surface is flat: what you see is glass, cut and layered, with linen showing between the pieces.
| Part | Material | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Layered glass, cut to shape and placed by hand | Stands off the ground in dimensional relief and catches the light |
| Ground | Natural linen | The pale cloth the relief is built on |
| Frame | Walnut shadow box | Holds the relief without pressing on it; ready to hang |
| Lettering | Glass, under the portrait, only when you add it | A name of up to 20 characters or a line of up to 80 |
A ready-made piece from the shop carries nobody's name. A piece made from your own photo carries a name only if you type one, and it is worked into the design beneath the portrait.
Why glass, linen and walnut together?
Because each does one job. The glass carries the likeness and the light, the linen gives it a quiet ground to stand off, and the walnut box keeps the relief safe and finishes it for the wall.
The same build goes into every piece: the catalogue portraits, the quote panels, the signs, and the one drawn from your own photograph on the create page. The full specification, with the making step by step, is on the materials and process page.
Questions this leaves
Is the glass real glass?
Yes. The portrait is sculpted in real glass and layered into dimensional relief, which is why it stands off the linen and throws small shadows of its own. A print or a photograph under glass is flat and catches the light all at once; this catches it piece by piece as you move.
Does the colour fade?
The glass does not fade. The linen ground is the part to look after: hang it where it will not sit in hours of hard direct sun, which yellows linen over time, and dust it with a soft dry brush or a cold hairdryer rather than a cloth dragged across the surface.
Is the frame part of the piece?
Yes. Every portrait leaves in its walnut shadow box, fitted for hanging; the frame is part of the build, not an extra to add. The checkout works out the shipping and any duties for your address, and the piece travels boxed with its corners protected.
Can I see the glass before I order?
You see the design before you order: give the create page a photo and Tedooo draws the glass design in roughly a minute, free, with nothing cut until you approve one. For finished pieces in daylight on real walls, the buyers' own photographs are on the reviews page.
